A question

[Hillson]

God can punish or 'rebuke' his children, as a father would his son, becuase he loves them and does it for their own good. Like if you were young and you wanted to run accross a busy street and your father was there, he would probably smack you and tell you to never do that again becuase he loves you and does not want you to get hurt....the same with God.

I just wondering if God sometimes let us fall down purposely to avoid we get hurt?

Edited December 3, 2004 by Hillson

[Guest angelhair]

I do believe you may be right? But it IS for our own good-I believe.

Angie

[Work in Progress]

Yes, He sure does.

And, lately, I've been begging him to smack me, lol. I want His discipline and guidance. I get so disgusted with myself, and am always in awe of how He still has open arms, even after I let Him down. Sigh. God is so wonderful.

[ray]

Yes, god allows us to fall down, but he allows us to get back up and follow Him again if we are willing.

Example: The story of the prodigal son. If he did not run out of money he would not have been so desperate and fall so hard that he had to feed pigs. Not only did he fall hard and get poor job he became desparetly hungry to eat the pigs food. If he never hit a rock bottom like that he may not have ever returned home to his Father.

IF BIG IF, the prodigal son had gone and become the next Donald Trump, he may never have developed a close relationship with his Father.

Some of us it take a lot more than a smack on the bottom if we are not paying attention when crossing the street. Although that would get most of our attention we as humans have to push the envelope to the extreme before realize what we are doing is wrong.

To ourselves it may not look like we are hurting any one but ourselves, but the reality is we are hurting more than those around us that mean so much. The prodigal son did no stop think what he would do would hurt any of his family but it did just look at how his brother responded when he returned home.

A lot of choice have to be made and the hardest ones we have to do are when we have to do them on our own for whatever reason.

[Guest Thomas I believe]

Yes, He sure does.

And, lately, I've been begging him to smack me, lol. I want His discipline and guidance. I get so disgusted with myself, and am always in awe of how He still has open arms, even after I let Him down. Sigh. God is so wonderful.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Work In Progress, You are so right on this. When I get complacent I need a good slap and to get busted to my knees. He is always there to pick us up after and dust us off when the dust settles. God Loves us so much but He will let us go through pain to grow. From that are wealth is unmeasurable..... Our wealth on Gods scale not the world's..

[shammah]

The bible speaks clearly on this issue; unfortunately parent mostly don't discipline their children, and as an example, to what God requires, they will also reject God's correction also!

Proverbs.22:4-6;

4The reward of humility and the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.

5Thorns and snares are in the way of the obstinate and willful; he who guards himself will be far from them.

6Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it.(2)

Hebrews.12:4-11;

4You have not yet struggled and fought agonizingly against sin, nor have you yet resisted and withstood to the point of pouring out your [own] blood.

5And have you [completely] forgotten the divine word of appeal and encouragement in which you are reasoned with and addressed as sons? My son, do not think lightly or scorn to submit to the correction and discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage and give up and faint when you are reproved or corrected by Him;

6For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes.

7You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline?

8Now if you are exempt from correction and left without discipline in which all [of God's children] share, then you are illegitimate offspring and not true sons [at all].(2)

9Moreover, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we yielded [to them] and respected [them for training us]. Shall we not much more cheerfully submit to the Father of spirits and so [truly] live?

10For [our earthly fathers] disciplined us for only a short period of time and chastised us as seemed proper and good to them; but He disciplines us for our certain good, that we may become sharers in His own holiness.

11For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness--in conformity to God's will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God].

I really feel sorry for the people at the church I work at, they are rich and at ease, the kids are spoiled and give no heed to instruction, they wouldn't understand correction, because it isn't taught! They are neither hot nor cold!

Rev.3:14-19;

14And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the trusty and faithful and true Witness, the Origin and Beginning and Author of God's creation:(5)

15I know your [record of] works and what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot!

16So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth!

17For you say, I am rich; I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing; and you do not realize and understand that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.(6)

18Therefore I counsel you to purchase from Me gold refined and tested by fire, that you may be [truly] wealthy, and white clothes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nudity from being seen, and salve to put on your eyes, that you may see.

19Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [i discipline and instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude].(7)

It's really hard to tell if your of the Laodicean church, because you think everything is fine; but they're blind naked, and in deep need of Godly repentance and discipline, which is unlikely to come from a pastor worried about loosing money!

Agape in Christ ; Ephraim.

[Shelby]

Some us don't even fall down, we tend to slam right into a brick wall sometimes.

I heard it once that some people have to walk through the puddles of life to know they are there and there are those God gives vision to see them beforehand.

I think it depends on how teachable your spirit is. I am quite the stubborn one, and I have been emersed in a few puddles.

[Jacqueline]

Yes God does. Sometimes as He did for me He gives us our hearts desire in order to show us that what we think we want isn't want we really want.

Sometimes want we want we can't have and have Him as well. We have to make a choice. God or it. I choose God. Hard lesson to learn, but I thank Him for the lesson every day.

God Bless You

Jacqueline

[IslandRose]

Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

[Work in Progress]

Yes, He sure does.

And, lately, I've been begging him to smack me, lol. I want His discipline and guidance. I get so disgusted with myself, and am always in awe of how He still has open arms, even after I let Him down. Sigh. God is so wonderful.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Work In Progress, You are so right on this. When I get complacent I need a good slap and to get busted to my knees. He is always there to pick us up after and dust us off when the dust settles. God Loves us so much but He will let us go through pain to grow. From that are wealth is unmeasurable..... Our wealth on Gods scale not the world's..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

TIB, I shutter to think of the time when I was young, and unsaved, and said "God will never control my life, I am in control".

Blech. I am so ashamed of that. How stupid. PLEASE control me, God, and save me from myself!!!